A Fairy Good Day!

Our day started out with a Halloween party for our playgroup. The kids had a lot of fun and it was fun to see them in costume. As you can see, Jadyn did not want to be in the photo. Snow White came to the party. :) Mom and daughter dressed alike. Aren't they cute?

Jadyn and I carved pumpkins in the afternoon. She made the two on the right at preschool.

All ready to go out.

Pumpkins on the porch.

My polka dot pumpkin. :)

Our Week

It's been almost a week since I've posted. Things have been busy and fun around here.

My parents came for a visit for about 5 days. We had a very nice visit.

They drove here from Texas and so they needed a little time to rest when they arrived. Jadyn barely gave them time for that. She literally climbed all over them and at times I had to remind her to be careful. She's used to climbing all over us.

Jadyn soaked up all of the Grandma and Grandpa time that she could. Grandma and Grandpa were such good sports. They played Hide & Seek with her numerous times, read tons of books, and did all kinds of other things with her. They are sweet grandparents.

Jadyn's had 2 occasions to wear her costume already. She wore it to preschool on Tuesday for a party and to Playschool on Wednesday. Playschool is a 1 hour long class she goes to at the high school. She participates in the activities that the teen students plan as part of their Child Development class. They had trick-or-treating in the high school yesterday. Oh, the influx of candy has begun!

Our playgroup will have a party tomorrow and then Jadyn will do a small amount of trick-or-treating tomorrow night.

I have had a cold....The Illness....for about 12 days now. Heed my warning: Stay far away from this illness! I suppose it's just a strong cold virus, but it does pack a strong punch. Here's hoping I get a full night's sleep tonight. :)

I've spent some time today AND during this morning's wee hours catching up on your blogs.

Here are photos from the past week.

Decorating a pumpkin at preschool.

Sisters at Sunday lunch.

Jadyn and Grandma playing, at Lauryn and Aaron's house.

Grandpa and Jadyn - a little shopping and lunch after preschool.

Reading with Grandma and Grandpa.

Favorite Photo Friday

Here are some photos from last fall, when our kids had a photo shoot as a surprise for our 25th anniversary. I couldn't choose just one. You know how moms are about their kids.

Have a wonderful Friday, everyone!

26 years!!

We are celebrating 26 years of marriage today!

I am so blessed to have found the love of my life all those years ago. :)

Wordless Wednesday...Fall '06

Hide and Seek and Other Fun

Our weekend has been good. Kaitlyn came home for her Fall Break from college. She arrived late on Thursday night. We have been enjoying her visit and spending time as a family.

On Saturday morning we went over to the the fire station for the pumpkin give-away. I love pumpkins and was happy to get more.

Saturday was our city clean-up day. I was more than happy for us to get rid of bigger items we don't need and that cannot be thrown away in our small garbage container. Hurray! Our garage and storage room look better. The old grill, water softener, etc. are not here anymore.

Here are some Hide and Seek photos from yesterday....

Counting....1..2..3..4...

Is Dad in the coat closet??

Do you see my dad in the laundry room closet?

Gotcha, Dad!

Here are 2 recent pictures of Jadyn, with her bunny in the car. I told her I wasn't sure if I could get the bunny into the seat belt. She was insistent that she would need to be in the seatbelt, and she squeezed her in.

Pretty Princesses

Jadyn went to a friend's birthday party last weekend. It was a princess party and they had lots of fun. Here are some photos.

Nine pretty princessess. The birthday girl is in the middle.

Sometimes Jadyn doesn't like to cooperate when I want to take a photo. Can you imagine a 3 year old not cooperating? I snapped this one when she wasn't expecting it. I liked how it turned out.
The girls were asked to make silly faces. Some did and some didn't. Jadyn made one of her usual silly faces. :)

Jadyn has been commenting a lot lately on how everyone is bigger than her. I am surprised that she is aware of it at such a young age. All of the girls in this group are older than her and so they are taller. She has said it about her preschool friends too. "Mom, why are they all bigger than me?" It's something she will have to get used to. I wish it wasn't an issue already though.

Tagging Fun!

I've been tagged by Kristin, at A Family Is Forever. I am supposed to share 7 random and/or weird facts about myself. You know there are probably way more than 7 weird facts about me. I'll try to narrow it down and add in some randomness too.

1. I was married when I was 18 years old and just 5 months out of high school. Isn't that crazy? It didn't seem crazy Back In The Day, but I would be freaked out if one of my children wanted to do the same. It definitely seems too young now! I remember well meaning adults telling us to wait and I'm sure there were those who thought it wouldn't last. We are still together, after almost 26 years. :)

2. I loved Barbies as a child and played them until I was a preteen. I really loved them. I loved to read, and read all of the Nancy Drew books that existed at the time. I think there were about 52 then. Sometimes Barbies and books were used together. I used books to make houses for the Barbies. We didn't have a Barbie house, but I had a Barbie Country Camper. Knowing me, I probably added books onto that for extra rooms.

3. I hate going to the dentist. Hate it! I do go every 6 months for cleanings, like a good girl. I had more than my share of dental and orthodontic work as a kid, and maybe I feel that I've already done my share? Seriously, I'd almost rather go to the gyn. than the dentist. TMI?

4. Way Back In The Day, I was a nurse. After marriage, I went to nursing school. I had a job doing home health care. I liked it, but shortly before our first daughter was born I left my job and became a SAHM. Being a stay at home mom is the best job I've ever had.

5. I don't like to shop. That used to really bother me, and sometimes it still does. I used to wonder if I was the only woman out there who doesn't love shopping. I know now that's not true.
I'd rather shop for groceries and household items than clothing, shoes or jewelry.

6. I love to watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The Grinch's humor reminds me a lot of myself. Should I be nervous about that? 7. I don't really like to take baths. I'm just not the soak and relax in the tub type. I'm a shower person. I don't like to linger in the shower either. Just get in, do the necessary shampooing and etc, and get out. Now when I was a teenager, I liked taking super-long showers until the hot water heater ran out. I got into so much trouble for this, over and over. Now it's pay-back time. My son takes 30-45 minute showers.

Here's who I'm tagging...

Lea, at Oh My #6
Jean, at There's No Place Like Home! Jean is a new blogger. Please stop by and visit her.
Tracy, at Following The Red Thread
Michelle, at Day By Day
Anita, at He Leads Us
Melissa, at Be Careful What You Wish For
Deb, at Sophie's World

Our Apple Orchard Trip

On Friday, we went to an apple orchard with friends. Even though it was a very chilly morning, we had a lot of fun.

After the orchard experience, we drove a few minutes to a cheese factory. Who can resist those yummy cheese samples? We also tried buffalo sausage, and then we ate lunch in their restaurant. We had buffalo chili, and the best grilled cheese sandwiches of our lives.

Jadyn and Cate Petting the goats. I almost wanted to ask the goats if they knew our cat, Sophie.
Playing in the corn.
Going on a hayride! So much fun.

Yes, there were chickens too. Jadyn tried to pet the roosters. She wasn't nervous about that, but I was. I had a bad experience with a rooster when I was a kid.

A Fun Award

I have a blogging friend who has given me the Kreativ Blogger award. I really appreciate it, and it feels like a little gift. Thank you, Melissa! I've enjoyed Melissa's blog. I enjoy her honesty, humor, and hearing about what's going on at her home. Her blog is Be Careful What You Wish For.

So in receiving this award you must do something and then pass it on. The steps of this award are to list 6 things we love, then pass it on to other bloggers.

My six things:

1. I love blogging and reading the blogs of others. I had no idea that I would enjoy it so much. There are more bloggers out there than I EVER imagined. It's too bad that there are not more hours in the day to read blogs. I did not know that blogging would be an addiction. :) "Hello, my name is Laura, and I'm addicted to blogging."

2. I love coffee. I love it most in the morning and the smell of it brewing is heavenly. I love it when my sweet husband makes it for me, and he does this on many mornings. It's especially sweet, because he is not a coffee drinker. I love the smell of a freshly opened can of coffee too.

3. I love Fall, including the fabulous colors of the leaves, leaves in the streets, and leaves swirling through the air. I love pumpkins, mums, apple picking, and the crispness in the air.

4. I love rainy days, especially if it's a day when we can stay inside, just enjoy it and be in our jammies as long as we want to. Now if it's a day when I am NOT in the mood for rain, it's a different story altogether. :)

5. I love doing the laundry. I know that's a little weird. I don't live to do the laundry or anything, but it's probably my favorite chore. I enjoy the fact that you can get immediate results. Clean laundry just smells good! Who doesn't love pulling a warm, clean towel out of the dryer?

6. I enjoy photography. I'm definitely an amateur, but I have fun taking photos of people and nature. I love snapping lots of photos and seeing the results. My favorite subject is Jadyn and I'm sure you already knew that. :)


Some creative blogs that deserve this award...

Diana, at She's a-DORI-ble!!!. Her blog is decorated for the season and it's so cute it's scary.

Missy, at Party Of Many. Her love for her sister is so special, and I love the wonderful photos that she takes.

Lauryn, at White Kitchen. Lauryn is my daughter and this is her cooking blog. I am happy that she enjoys cooking so much. I love it that she enjoys trying lots of new things. Stop by, and you just might find a recipe you'll enjoy.

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful this morning for the simple beauty of seeing the sunrise over the pond, out my kitchen window. Coffee in hand, I was quietly thanking God for such a simple thing. I thought how perfect it would be if there were birds on the water too. A few seconds later, in they flew. Thankful for the quiet beauty.

Thankful for a sweet husband and little one. Last weekend they went out to run some errands and also give me a little quiet time. While they were out, they stopped to pick some wild flowers for me. :)

Alan has been in Seattle this week, on business. I'm thankful he'll be back this evening. We've missed him.

I'm thankful for the silly, yet creative things that Jadyn does. She never ceases to make me smile. Here you see a photo of Mousie, taking a bath. "Mousie needs a bath, Mom." After Mousie's bath, it was time for lunch. I made Jadyn a PB & J sandwich. She asked if I'd make Mousie a little, tiny PB & J sandwich too. I had to draw the line there. :)

Sometimes it just makes more sense to wear your socks on your hands. :) --photo by Dad.

Kitty needed a new hat. :)

Have a wonderful Thursday everyone!

Favorite Photo Friday

I picked several instead of just one. Here are some photos from late summer...

Sisters Reading

Dad and Daughter at the Zoo

Face Painting

Caught sleeping. This just never happens!